Chapter 49: How Dramatic Could She Make This Inevitable Confrontation

“So...who do you think approached the other first?”

Tori gave him a droll look. “Baron Hart, obviously.”

“Oh? Why is it obvious?” Andy leaned back against the carriage seat, peering out the window, towards the unsuspecting ‘couple’.

Tori sat across from him, also looking out the window as she rested her arm against the sill. “A common working woman busy desperately trying to keep her family business afloat, and a widow with teenage sons, no less, approaching a poor nobleman? No matter how low ranked and poor Baron Hart is, I doubt a woman in such a position would be the first to approach.”

“But what if Madam Voss noticed Baron Hart first?”

“Noticing isn’t the same as approaching,” Tori said, with confidence. They had just finished lunch and Kasen’s extensive, but successful negotiation. She didn’t think he’d be so aggressive, but compared to him, she would’ve vastly overpaid. However, she couldn’t allow him to completely take advantage of the desperate position Stackhouse Bricks was in.

She poked him a few times before he withdrew. However, Madam Voss was still more than happy to sign the contract. Her contract was altered, as with Baron Hart knowing who they were, it would be difficult to keep their agreement classified. Tori now expected Alessa, and therefore the cow-man, to find out.

Still, once everything was completed and Tori shook hands with Madam Voss, a wide smile filled the Baron's face.

After the contract was signed and lunch was finished, Tori, Kasen, and Andy were in their carriage waiting for Baron Hart to finish his good-byes and accompany them to Hart Manor. Tori and her cousin were watching the middle-aged man and woman awkwardly part and making various theories to entertain themselves.

“Baron Hart is also a widower and has a teenage child of his own. He is tasked with overseeing his village,” Andy said. “And under the circumstances, Madam Voss is left as the head of her family. I’m sure they can understand the pressure each other is under.”

Tori raised a brow and looked at him with a slight smirk. “And that’s how they fell in love?”

Andy raised his hands. “I’m not saying that’s what happened, but it’s likely, don’t you think? Although their displays of affection are subtle, they are still there and not only accepted, but reciprocated.”

“What displays of affection?” Tori leaned forward, curious.

Andy began to count off his fingers. “He reached for her hand and I’m sure if we weren’t there, he would’ve done so sooner. He then escorted her into the house.”

“He was just being polite when he offered her his arm.”

Kasen let out a small snort and she looked over at him as he sat beside her, putting away various papers into his bag. “No, he wasn’t.”

Tori rolled her eyes and looked back at Andy. “He was just excited when he heard I was buying the bricks.”

“Really?” Andy motioned his head out the window. Tori looked outside and saw Baron Hart standing in front of Madam Voss. Their hands were lowered and in front of them, with her fingers resting in his hands. Both were avoiding eye contact, but their faces were red. “Isn’t that obvious?”

Tori opened her mouth, but she didn’t have a real rebuttal. It was quite obvious that Baron Hart and Madam Voss had some sort of mutual attraction.

“A man wouldn’t hold another’s hands like that if he didn’t have a strong interest in that person,” Kasen said. Andy nodded in agreement.

“A strong interest doesn’t necessarily have to be romantic,” Tori said. “P-” She snapped her mouth shut before she could say the name of the man who, in retrospect, started to hold her hand, either in his or on the crook of his arm, much more often.

Her eyes flickered from her cousin to her brother and noticed Kasen’s blue eyes sharpen. “What were you going to say?”

“People don’t necessarily have to have a romantic interest to touch others!” Good job covering your tracks! He has no idea! “Ilyana is always grabbing onto our arms when we’re walking around and when it’s cold, all of us huddle together.”

Her brother’s gaze seemed to bore into her, as if trying to find out the truth. Tori held firm and kept her expression steady. After what seemed like a full minute of being under his scrutinizing glare, Kasen finally retracted and leaned back against the carriage.

“You should know by now what to do if someone touches you without your consent,” Kasen said, as if expecting her to know.

Luckily, Tori did. She and Andy spoke at the same time.

“Stab them.” She looked towards her cousin, who seemed very satisfied with her answer, with a look of disbelief.

Is my entire extended family like this? Are all marquis families like this?

“My lords, my lady, my apologies for the delay,” a voice said outside her window. Baron Hart was on his horse and had come up beside the carriage. “Hart Manor is not too far away. We’ll be there soon.”

Andy gave him a nod and the baron rode ahead to lead them. Tori could feel her stomach twisting as they started forward. Now that the order had been made and there was nothing else for her to focus her attention on, her mind settled on the inevitable run-in with Alessa.

“There is still quite a bit of daylight left. We can make it to Woodhaven, so we don’t need to trouble the baron,” she said.

“We’re already on our way and he must’ve already prepared,” Andy told her. “It would be rude to leave now.”

She knew that, but she still wanted to. She crossed her legs and arms, and looked out the window, annoyed. Since her cousin had arranged this, what more could she do? Throw a fit like a child? Cry and scream? Tori silently snorted.

At the very least, it was only for one night. “We leave in the morning,” she said, as if there was no room for discussion. Two sets of eyes looked towards her, seemingly caught a bit off guard by her tone. “We’ve already lost a lot of time. I want to go to Moss Hill and see King’s Harbor.”

Andy looked a bit perplexed, but nodded. “All right. I’m sure we could all use a good rest after such a journey.” He glanced towards Kasen, as if expecting an explanation for Tori’s demand, but Kasen didn’t reply and instead, opened his book to read.

In that short ride, Tori could only ready herself for what she was to find, or rather, who, when she reached the manor.

The name suggested a large house, but considering that Alessa came from an impoverished noble family, it was likely that the house only had the facade of grandeur, but was falling apart. As they approached a well-worn dirt road leading to a blocky, three-story manor house surrounded by an aging, ivy patched stone wall, her guess was confirmed.

The gray structure stood out amongst the flat wheat fields surrounding it and had a picturesque background of a thick oak forest line behind it. It had peaked roofs with very weathered wooden tiles and narrow windows.

Still, the sturdy stone brick building was holding up well considering its age and somewhat dilapidated details. It wasn’t large enough that it was intimidating, at least to her. It actually seemed very intimate and comfortable. The whole structure screamed of ‘this is a house of love and warmth’; an ideal place for the protagonist to grow up and become the kind, gentle person seven love interests fell hard for.

The carriage followed Baron Hart through an arched gate and into the small courtyard in front of the entrance. There was just enough room for the carriage, which was larger than normal, and their escort knights on horseback. Baron Hart dismounted and quickly walked up the few steps to the door.

“Patrick! Patrick, the Admiral and his guests have arrived!” Baron Hart called through the open door and immediately, an old man with white hair in a black uniform came out. He looked excited to see the newcomers.

The footman jumped from the carriage to open the door for Tori, Kasen, and Andy and they stepped out. Tori looked around, steeling herself for the worst and waited for the appearance of the blonde-haired protagonist. After a few moments, Alessa didn’t appear. Tori narrowed her eyes.

Did Alessa go out for the day?

Now that Tori was there, she wanted to face the enemy.

Andy walked forward to greet the butler as the de facto guide of the group.

“Good afternoon, Admiral O’Tuagh,” the butler said as he bowed his head. “Welcome to Hart Manor. I am Patrick Mulligan, the Hart’s butler. If there is anything you or your party needs, please do not hesitate.”

“Dinner will be served in a few hours,” Baron Hart said. “Would you like to take a small tour of the house? It may be small in comparison to Moss Hill and the Fortress, but it has a long history.”

Tori opened her mouth to accept, but Kasen answered first. “It has been a rather long day of travel and business for us, Baron Hart, Mr. Mulligan. I would prefer to rest in my room the remainder of the afternoon.” Tori cast him a suspicious look. He said ‘rest’, but he was likely going to go over paperwork and make some calls. Kasen glanced over at her and the corner of his lip curled up. “My sister, however, has an interest in buildings and structures of historical importance. Perhaps she would like to go on a house tour?”

Tori nodded.

“In that case, I’ll accompany you,” Andy said. He looked at Tori. “Let’s go to our rooms first and rest for a few minutes and then we can go on the tour.”

“Okay, sounds good.” Tori agreed, pleased that she wasn’t going to be relegated to her room until dinner when there was information to be gathered.

“Then, Admiral, my lord, and my lady,” the butler said. “Please follow me.”

Baron Hart motioned for them to enter the house and said he would take care of their luggage. Tori thought he would call for others, but then saw him walk out towards the carriage himself. As they walked through the large house and up a set of stone stairs to the second level, Tori noticed that there were no other servants.

There weren’t any maids or valets running about. There weren’t even any guards. She looked at Kasen and reached for his sleeve. She gave it a gentle tug and he glanced down.

“Perhaps Baron Hart could use some assistance?” Now she understood that he’d carry their things up himself.

“I’ve instructed the knights to assist him carrying our things, as they do when we’re at an inn.” Kasen assured her as he lifted his hand to pat her head. “Don’t worry. Besides, all you have is an overnight bag.”

Tori was a bit relieved, both because Baron Hart wouldn’t have to strain himself to show his hospitality and also because she trusted her family’s knights more than Baron Hart. She’d only known him for a few hours, and most of it she spent imagining possible cute-meets he had with Madam Voss. Nothing about him seemed overly suspicious despite being the father of the protagonist, but she didn’t want to take any more risks.

After all, she was already as deep into ‘enemy territory’ as she could be.

Her room was near the stairs with Kasen’s room on one side and Andy’s room on the other. The knights would be given rooms in the servant’s quarters, which was a separate, adjacent building.

Her room was a bit smaller than her dorm room, but it was to be expected in an older building. There were narrow windows with foggy glass and an old wooden bed with a canopy. It was narrower than her bed at the Fortress and the sheets were thin, but a thick mink blanket had been laid across the top.

Tori furrowed her brows. She appreciated the sentiment, but it was summer. Then again, perhaps the temperatures could drop at night in the region and she’d need it. She looked towards the small hearth. It was clean and had a new pile of kindling set beside it, but Tori decided she wouldn’t need to use it.

After a few minutes of checking out her room, a knock came from her door. A knight dropped off her bag and Andy came out of his room to call her out to take a tour.

“I suppose when you’re building a city, you’re curious about structures,” he told her as they walked down the hall. “Manor houses like these aren’t built much anymore.”

“I think they’re interesting,” Tori said. “By the way, did you not tell Baron Hart that my brother and I were with you?”

“I told him to expect myself and two relatives, as well as at least a dozen knights, but no, I didn’t mention you two by name.” Andy didn’t seem to think much of it as he shook his head. He leaned a bit closer and lowered his voice. “To be honest, Tori, I know we’re troubling Baron Hart and I don’t want him to strain his resources knowing that two more children of a marquis will be here.”

Tori sighed. “Cousin Andy, if you knew he was impoverished and would strain his resources, we should’ve stayed at Woodhaven. I don’t want to burden him like this.”

Andy’s face seemed to soften. “Hah, you’ve grown up from the little girl who’d cling to my leg and try to talk me into giving her my dessert.”

Tori smirked. “I have money of my own now. I can buy my own desserts.”

“Oh, how very mature of you,” he said with a laugh. “I also wanted to stay here because, aside from its proximity to Stackhouse Bricks, I heard Baron Hart has a daughter your age. I thought you’d grow tired of the company of old men and may want someone your own age to talk to.” Andy reached up and scratched the side of his head. “However, I haven’t seen or heard of her. I wonder if she’s here this summer.”

Tori’s lips tightened into a line and she stared ahead of them. Oh, Alessa is here. Maybe not in the manor, but she will be soon. “I appreciate your sentiment, Andy, but it wasn’t necessary. I like traveling with Kasen, and you, and if I wanted someone my own age to talk to, I would call one of my friends.”

She didn’t mean to sound so annoyed, but she didn’t want to be made the reason for being in the situation she was now.

Andy looked a bit embarrassed and looked down. “Is that so....”

Tori nodded her head and her eyes narrowed a bit. Part of her wanted to tell Andy never to make such plans without telling her first again, but she didn’t think it was appropriate. She liked her cousin, but they’d only known each other for a few days and he would not know all her preferences in such a short time.

He had made the arrangements with her in mind, not knowing what an absolute mistake it was. It was irrational for her to get angry at a well-meaning mistake, but she was. Tori glared down the corridor.

“I would rather have gone to Woodhaven.” The coldness in her voice seemed to make Andy tense up. He looked over at her and frowned.

“Do you really not like Hart Manor?”

“It’s not the manor,” Tori said in a low voice. Before he could ask further questions, they reached the top of the stairs and the butler was waiting for them at the bottom, in the foyer. His old, wrinkled face lit up as he saw them.

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“Admiral, my lady! Are your rooms to your liking?”

Tori immediately put on her business smile and gave him a polite nod. “Yes, Mr. Mulligan, they are perfect. Thank you for your hard work preparing them.”

The butler looked relieved with the praise and reiterated once more that if anything was needed, to let him know. He led them through the ground floor of the manor and Tori took in his words on the history of the house, the family, and the current residents.

When he mentioned Alessa, Tori took the chance to pry for more information.

“I know Miss Hart from school, actually. I was expecting to see her here when we arrived. Is she not spending the summer here?” Tori asked casually.

The butler’s smile widened. “Does the lady also attend Lycée du Soleil?”

Tori’s smile never left her face. “Yes, I also just completed my first year.”

“The young lady has two visitors from Horizon who are also coming for Lady Siobhan’s succession ceremony and left this morning to show them our humble village,” the butler told them.

Tori tilted her head to the side. “Two visitors?” One of them must’ve been Gideon. Perhaps the other was the Empress? Tori shook her head. No, if it was the Empress, there would be many more guards or knights around, and Baron Hart would’ve told them.

“Yes, two young gentlemen classmates of hers. The young men grew up in Horizon and have never been out this far,” the butler told her. “Our young miss invited them to see the countryside.”

Tori narrowed her eyes a bit. She had some guesses, but now that he said, ‘classmates’ and didn’t mention anything specific, such as ‘the prince’ or ‘so-and-so’s son’, she began to wonder if Alessa’s guests were trying to visit incognito.

“Are Miss Hart’s other classmates also staying here?” She feigned some surprise.

“Yes, they are in the wing opposite yours.”

A small flurry of excitement welled in her. She didn’t want to ruin their fun, but she was petty. And if the game had gone through all the trouble to put her here to start shit, then shit she would start - on her terms. “May I ask when they arrived and if we’ll be meeting them for dinner?”

The butler was leading them out towards the back courtyard, which now had a sizable vegetable garden. “They arrived the day before and yes, they will return for dinner.”

The corners of Tori’s eyes crinkled as her smile widened. “Good. I look forward to dinner.”

There were many things Tori learned while on her little tour and when they stopped to chat with Baron Hart on their way back inside. The most important of which was more character backstory. The wiki-article had the basic information on Alessa, her father, and the state of her home, which would all come to shape her character, but it didn’t cover everything.

Tori knew that Alessa’s mother died of an illness when she was a child; a classic element of a protagonist's sad backstory. Fathers in these sort of stories usually went one of two ways: first, they poured all their love into their child, spoiling their child and trying to keep everything that was wrong out of their sight. Second, neglect and abuse. There was no middle ground.

Baron Hart went the first route. When his wife died, he gave all his love and attention to Alessa. They were poor, but he did his best to ensure that she had the best tutors they could get in order for her to grow up educated and well-rounded. Alessa had tested into Lycée at rank five, so Baron Hart’s efforts paid off.

The father and daughter were very close, but Baron Hart’s attempts to shield his daughter from their poverty were not to be. The Baron had almost bragged that Alessa understood their economic status at a young age and had rejected expensive tutors in order to save money. He said that she understood that their money came from the people and she didn’t want to strain the people of Chetterswickshire.

Whenever they had extra money, Alessa wanted to donate it to the people. Admirable, but it was not sustainable. Baron Hart also said that at one point, he was starting to resort to selling family artifacts and Alessa had to beg and plead in order to keep him from doing so. She would rather mend her own dresses or make them herself than to sell a family heirloom.

Tori and Andy had exchanged looks at this. Why was their situation so bad? Were they in that much debt? It turns out, yes. In his younger years, Baron Hart had invested heavily in various businesses and he had both terrible luck and no foresight, resulting in them still being straddled with debt until recently.

Baron Hart inherited some money from a distant relative, which he used to pay off their debts and Alessa’s tuition. He wanted to invest some money in a local business, which was how he met Madam Voss. However, he was a bit haunted by his past investment failures and hesitated, so Alessa introduced him to Adrien Rosiek.

They went into business with an extension of Adrien’s company to make the down vests and sleeping bags. Of course, after Tori claimed her rights over the designs, the sales of their merchandise dropped. Now, they were barely breaking even. At the very least, those artisans that they hired still had jobs.

“How would you have invested in Stackhouse Bricks?” Tori asked as they had afternoon tea with the Baron.

“I wanted to buy into the business and then take a portion of their surplus to be sold elsewhere. While Stackhouse Bricks makes the finest quality bricks in Anlar, their regional customer base has dried up,” the Baron told her with some disappointment. He shook his head. “When Mr. Stackhouse, the younger, raised the prices, it was a rather dramatic increase and it angered their customers. Aside from cancelling orders, the customers also blacklisted the business. Only a handful of buyers remain. Stackhouse Bricks’ reputation is abysmal and no one wants to buy from them because of what Mr. Stackhouse did. I hoped to popularize their bricks outside the region to bring in more business.”

Tori nodded. “I can see why you’d want to do that.”

Baron Hart looked at her with gratitude. “I’ve never seen Stackhouse Bricks so busy. Today, they almost seemed to be in full production.”

“It was done to show us what they are capable of,” Tori said. “Madam Voss and her family wanted to show us, a prospective customer, that they can regulate quality and make a decent number of bricks daily without sacrificing said quality. If we arrived and all they showed us was a barn full of bricks, the effect wouldn’t be as strong. Maybe we’d buy the surplus, but we likely wouldn’t contract them for additional bricks.”

After tea, she and Andy stood up to leave. She stopped by Kasen’s room and asked if she could talk to the both of them before dinner. Kasen invited them in and Tori did what she told Ilyana she would do: tell her family about her and Alessa.

After roughly an hour of explaining what had happened, from the moment she met Gideon looking for her classes, to Dimitiri being suspicious of her for inviting his mother to her store; all which somehow became connected to Alessa, her brother had a dark look on his face and Andy was hunched forward, seated on a wooden chair, and appearing defeated.

“Tori, I’m sorry,” Andy said, his voice laced with regret. “I didn’t know that you and Miss Hart had such a relationship.”

“Hmm...then you know not to insist on something like this again,” Tori said, somewhat clipped. “You kept insisting, without considering my protest, and now here we are. I have to face Miss Hart and two idiots who hate me.” She gave him a bit of a demeaning smile. “I had wanted to wait until we reached Moss Hill and tell everyone so there are no misunderstandings, but it seems I have to explain early and even now it’s too late.”

Kasen stood up and walked to the small desk across the room. He began to gather the things he’d been working on and put them in a bag. “Call for the carriage,” he said in a low voice. “We’re going to Woodhaven.”

“Now?” Andy sat up straight and looked upset. “If we leave now, we won’t get to Woodhaven until dark. We may not find a place to stay for the night.”

Kasen slammed his hands on the desk and turned around, glaring at Andy. “Then we will sleep in the carriage.”

“Kasen....” Andy looked at a loss and turned to Tori. She remained seated on the foot of the bed, her arms crossed and her lips in a tight line. “Tori....” She looked away.

“I will not stay here and force my sister to deal with a little wretch who stole her work and essentially called her a cheater in front of her class,” Kasen said in a low, dangerous voice.

Andy tilted his head back and let out a heavy breath. He slowly pushed himself up. “Then, what should I tell Baron Hart?”

“Don’t tell him anything,” Tori said. “We’ll have dinner and stay the night. The knights are already settled, the horses are being fed and resting. It’s too much trouble for everyone if we leave now, especially if it’s simply because of my...discomfort with the manor’s young miss.”

Her brother frowned. “Tori-”

“We’ll leave in the morning, anyway. At most, I’ll have to deal with Miss Hart and her friends for two meals. Besides, part of this is my fault. I should’ve stated my position when Andy told us we were staying here instead of holding it in or trying to be subtle for the sake of propriety.” Tori stood up.

“If you don’t want to stay here, then we won’t stay here,” Kasen said in a firm voice.

Tori closed her eyes. “I know, Kasey,” she replied quietly. “But if it gets out that we left, we’d look rude and ungrateful. I’d look rude and ungrateful.” She opened her eyes and met his. “I already told you how rumors twisted things and earned me a rather unfortunate reputation. There are still plenty of people who don’t like me. As much as I don’t want to continue my discomfort for the sake of propriety, I have to weigh the cost and benefits beyond that. It is less trouble in the long run if we stay the night. Let’s just get through dinner and leave in the morning.”

Kasen narrowed his eyes. He strode across the room and brought Tori into a comforting embrace. He pressed his head against the top of hers. “You will stay here with me tonight. I’ll sleep on the chair. I don’t trust Baron Hart’s daughter or whoever her little bastard friends are,” he said in a low voice. “I knew people were bothering you at school, but I didn’t know it was to this extent...and that it all connected to her.”

Tori’s eyes watered and she felt a pressure around the bridge of her nose. “I didn’t want to tell everyone unless it was necessary. These are small children’s grudges. I can handle them.”

“I know.” Kasen let her go and put his hands on her shoulders. “You are a Guevera...we cannot coddle you forever.... Papa always tells us to let you handle your personal matters and only get involved when you ask, but you don’t know how difficult it is for me and Sebastian to hear about your conflicts and be unable to do anything.”

Tori smiled, her eyes a bit red, and hugged him once more. “You and Sebby already do so much for me. Haven’t I already come to you both for help when it was something I couldn’t deal with alone?”

Kasen let out a heavy breath. He looked over his head, at Andy. “We will only stay at inns from now on.”

Andy nodded. “I understand.” He looked at Tori with an apology written all over his face. “I will let the family know about this.”

“Miss Hart will be attending Cousin Siobhan’s ceremony as Prince Gideon’s escort,” Tori said. “It’s too much trouble to try to stop it. I just want the family to be aware.”

“Oh, they’ll be aware,” Andy said, narrowing his eyes. “This won’t happen again, little cousin.”

Tori took a deep breath and nodded. She pulled away from Kasen. “Then, I’m going to get ready for dinner. Kasen, Andy....”

“We’re used to dinners like this,” Andy told her. “They won’t know.”

They both escorted her to her room, and Tori sat down on the bed. It creaked loudly and she closed her eyes before falling back against it. She let out a heavy sigh.

At the very least, now her brother and Andy knew, and soon, the entire family would know. She doubted it would cause too many problems outside of superficial ones to Baron Hart or Alessa. If other nobles found out, they’d probably look at them with critical eyes. After all, in the end, this all was simply Alessa insulting Tori with her “innocent” or “well-meaning” actions.

Tori’s main problem was still the love interests rallying around Alessa, which could be instigated by the conflicts stemming from the innocent and well-meaning actions. She wanted to keep a low profile and ignore Alessa so she could focus on more important things she was dealing with, but it seems that wasn’t meant to be.

But now, she had more information to work with and many more resources. As of late, with the work at the delta and everything else, she hadn’t had time to really deal with Alessa and the others. Perhaps that was why she somehow ended up at Hart Manor; the game needed some sort of conflict.

She narrowed her eyes and pushed herself up before reaching for her bag and frowning. Her overnight bag only had two spare dresses, undergarments, sleepwear, small towels, and a small bag of toiletries.

“This isn’t going to work...,” she said quietly. If she was going to show herself to Alessa, in Alessa’s home, she wanted to do it right. It wasn’t a matter of whether or not she would show up to dinner. It was a matter of how dramatic she could make this inevitable confrontation. She walked to the door and pulled it open. Two knights were always posted at her door, no matter where they stayed. “Sir Torres, Sir Alcala, can one of you go to the carriage and get me the canvas garment bag with the red ribbon under the seat of the back bench?”

Sir Alcala responded faster. He lifted his hand, hit his chest, and rushed down the hall. Tori only had to wait a few minutes for him to return with the garment bag. She thanked him and got to work getting ready for dinner.

By the time Kasen came to her door to get her, she had just finished pinning up her hair. It wasn’t as good as when someone else did it for her, but it was good enough for a dinner with Alessa. She stood up and adjusted the capped sleeved, magenta Victorian ball gown with the slight bustle.

She opened the door and Kasen, dressed well for dinner, raised a brow. “Is this tonight's armor?”

She nodded with a look of determination on her face. “Has Miss Hart returned?”

“I believe so,” Kasen said, offering his arm. Tori took it without question and they walked down the hall. “Do you know who her two guests are?”

Tori narrowed her eyes. “I have a guess.” They reached the top of the end of the hall and could hear the voices coming from the hall below. Tori took a deep breath and then walked downstairs beside Kasen.

“Ah, my cousins are here,” Andy said as he turned around and looked up. “I believe you three may already know her.”

Tori’s eyes settled on the three stunned faces standing alongside her cousin and Baron Hart. She tried not to smirk as she came down the stairs, head held high and back straight. She tried to keep a neutral expression as she watched the teenagers’ varied reactions. Alessa looked confused and kept looking at her father, as if wanting to know why he didn’t tell her.

Dimitri was stunned to see her and Gideon seemed in a state of disbelief. Tori reveled in it.

“Alessa, Mr. Bernard, Mr. Leonard,” Baron Hart said as he stepped forward. “Admiral O’Tuagh’s cousins: Lady Victoria and Lord Kasen.”

The two siblings stood there for a moment before stepping back to formally greet them, or rather, formally greet Mr. Leonard - Prince Gideon Francis Leonard du Soleil. It appeared that her guess was right: the two had been traveling incognito and Alessa didn’t tell her father. Baron Hart, a rural noble, likely didn’t know what the Prime Minister or Emperor looked like, let alone their sons.

Tori wanted to laugh.

Well, I’m sure they had fun while it lasted. She gently pinched the side of her skirt and curtsied, barely holding back her smirk. “Good evening, Lady Hart, Mr. Guthry, and Your Highness Prince Gideon.”

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